Thursday, June 11, 2015

Unconditional Acceptance

We, as a younger generation, have a lot thrown at us in the form of how our generation is selfish, ambitious, materialistic and cold.
Women have to take a bit more than that starting from the above mentioned characteristics to being un-sanskari to not respecting our culture.

Some allegations may be true, some false, some borne out of malice, some out of genuine despair. Some out of misplaced concern and some out of nostalgia.

But the one characteristic about this generation that no one talks about is unconditional acceptance.
This generation and the coming ones are proponents of individuality - where every individual is just that - an individual, without a need to form a part of a homogeneous set up.
Where personal choices are just that - personal, not evoking judgement or even discussion.
Where one's caste, creed or sexual orientation does not form basis of a friendship.
Where age does not determine to need to be married or have kids.
Where long distance marriages are not thought of as a sham.

Of course, i am talking about pockets, urban minuscule pockets of living.
But the change has to begin somewhere.

We still live in a country where homosexuality is criminal, inter caste marriages are frowned upon, sometime even killed over, gender inequality is stark, where we still get questioned if we have friends in our circle who are of the same caste. But we are also living in an age where live in relationships are gaining some acceptance, homophobia is acknowledged as inappropriate, where advertisements like The visit, and shows like the Fosters, strike a chord and resonate the sentiments of a minority.

We do not ask women their family planning status, out of sheer respect for their privacy. And when a woman says she never wants to have children, we accept it as a way of life chosen by her and move on. But have you ever notice the raised eyebrows, and questioning stares of the meddlesome to the same answer?
Honesty is valued, even at times when it sounds crude.
A simple yes or no is preferred, to a long winded maybe, may be not
Where friends are few, but enemies never permanent
Where personal choices and consequences are made and borne by the same person

Of course we have been exposed to this free culture via media, ease of access to other cultures and free movement. And that is why it is easy for us to accept a person unconditionally for who they are, and allow people around us to have beliefs different to ours.

Tolerance, better still, acceptance of everyone's individuality is a very unique change that I noticed. There are a lot of things that we as a generation are doing wrong, many things we should be wary of or not doing at all, but this way of unconditional acceptance is something very unique that we need to foster.
And maybe instead of focusing on, and trying to change the attitudes of this generation, rigid people can take a leaf out of this book.